As is known, the human heart circulates blood throughout the body. Depending on the individual, the heart beats between 80,000 and 140,000 times per day. During normal function of the heart, the left and right atria and the left and right ventricles contract, causing blood to flow. The blood flows from the heart, passes through a set of blood vessels known as arteries that feed the organs and tissue in the body and then returns to the heart through a set of blood vessels known as veins. This circulation provides nutrients and oxygen to the body so that it can continue to function.
As the heart is basically a continuously functioning muscle, it also needs a steady supply of nutrients in order to function. For example, a coronary artery supplies blood (and the associated oxygen and nutrients) to the cardiac muscle. In order for the heart to continue to function, it is crucial that this artery continue to function properly.
Unfortunately, the coronary artery can become partially or completely blocked. One cause is left main coronary artery disease (“LMCD”). LMCD may be caused, for example, by the accumulation of fatty tissue on the wall of the left main artery. LMCD is generally defined as a greater than 50% reduction in the left main, which results in insufficient blood flow to the heart tissue and eventually causes damage to the heart tissue.
While partial blockage can result in permanent damage to the heart muscle, sudden complete blockage of the left main will result in the death of the individual. Therefore, maintaining blood flow through the left main is crucial to an individual's ability to exist. Any symptomatic blockage must be immediately treated.
Two methods of treatment of a partially or completely blocked left main are 1) percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (“PTCA”), also referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention (“PCI”), and commonly referred to as balloon angioplasty or angioplasty, and 2) coronary artery bypass graft (“CABG”), commonly referred to as bypass surgery. Due to a number of factors, the most common procedure to treat LMCD has been bypass surgery.
In essence, bypass surgery uses section of veins or arteries sections from other parts of the body to connect the aorta to a point downstream of the blockage. This allows blood to flow around the blockage point through a separate passageway. Depending on the severity and location of the blockage, as many as four to five grafts are necessary.
One downside to bypass surgery is that it takes a substantial time to perform. For a patient with a totally occlusion or a severely blocked left main, the time it takes to perform bypass surgery may be too long. Therefore, in emergencies, balloon angioplasty has been performed on patients suffering from sudden LMCD.
Another problem is that bypass surgery is only effective for about 8-10 years, at which point a patient generally requires additional treatment that is generally less effective. Given the potential long-term health problems, it is desirable to delay bypass surgery if possible.
Furthermore, certain patients' medical conditions are incompatible with the rigors of bypass surgery. For example, some patients have severe co-morbid conditions precluding open-heart surgery, such as malignancy with limited life-expectancy, no longer are a candidate for bypass surgery. Thus, while bypass surgery is a useful medical procedure that has saved many lives, it is best saved for situations where less complex procedures cannot be used effectively.
In addition, some interventional cardiac catheterization labs are not backed up by surgical programs. This is problematic in situations where the LMCD must be treated immediately (e.g. iatrogenic dissection of the left main).
Compared to bypass surgery, angioplasty can be done relatively quickly and is generally less traumatic to the patient. Basically, during angioplasty a wire is inserted into the artery. A flexible catheter is then guided along the wire. A balloon attached to the catheter is positioned in the left main at the point of blockage and the balloon is inflated to open the artery. To keep the artery open, a stent may be placed in the left main. One common method of delivering the stent is to wrap it around the balloon. Thus, the inflation of the balloon causes the stent to expand into position. The stent acts as a scaffolding to support the wall of the artery and, when coated with anti-restenotic agents, can be an alternative means of treating certain types of LMCD.
Sometimes blockage of the body's passageways occur at a junction. For example, blockage often occurs at the junction of the left main and the left anterior descending artery and the left circumflex artery. In such a situation, the medical practitioner must ensure that insertion of a stent or other medical device does not substantially occlude the junction. Practitioners often image the affected area (such as with an angiogram) to determine the proper placement of a stent or other implantable devices. Unfortunately, failure to precisely determine the proper orientation of the artery and/or the stent may result in placing the stent in a position that occludes the junction. For example, an image from a first perspective may prompt a practitioner to believe that a stent is properly aligned, however, a perspective shift may reveal that the stent is not aligned. Further, markers on the stent, indicate the orientation of the stent in relation to that perspective, not the orientation with respect to a second perspective, or the orientation of the stent with respect to the passageway.
This further complicated by the fact that secondary branches and angles between the different branches are varied from person to person as well as from junction to junction, making it difficult to accurately determine the proper sized stent. In fact, using a stent that is sized too small may cause the stent to angle within the vessel in a manner that blocks normal flow. Unfortunately, this problem may not be discovered using existing technologies. Another major limitation is that much higher operator skill is required to position such a stent quickly, thus making it more likely that such a stent will be improperly installed. Thus, methods and systems that allow more accurate selection and placement of stents are desirable. Further, other medical fields would greatly benefit from improved stents and methods for implanting stents.